Thursday, 30 April 2015

So the second year of the extreme science SciEx video competition has come to an end, with a new series of cool videos to show for it: http://sciex.mit.edu/videos/. The goal of this initiative is to take more direct steps towards making science and engineering catchier and more (socially) shareable than say... videos of cute kittens. Videos related to science should not be left to sit in some isolated corner of the internet, to be found only by people who were already looking for them... rather, they should be sprinkled around in every shape and form - extreme, cool, artistic, you name it. They should be able to affect, in some positive way, all sorts of individuals with diverse interests and personalities. Why? Because science teaches us to think, and individuals capable of thinking makes society a better place. More sharing of science will lead to a greater appreciation, at least a little bit of extra understanding, and a potential reduction of ignorance, about science. If nothing more, by actively sharing science we promote positive attitudes towards it (even if we don't always succeed at longer-ranged interest)... and positive attitudes lead to positive change... in people, in society, and in government. We need to educate the next generation of scientists, and we can contribute to this mission in the subtlest of ways and by taking small steps - including having more science and engineering videos circulating on the web. Let's show the world (the next generations) that science can be as extreme as an extreme sport, as beautiful as a work of art, as releasing as a dance. Let's celebrate scientists and engineers for the rockstars that they are. Let's cheer for them louder than we cheer for football players - because they are the ones changing the world we live in.